A Few Essays That Worked (And a Few That Didn't) - …

Johns Hopkins University - Essays that Worked

After that experience, my daughter put together her essays easily with my son’s input. She ran them by her college English and History instructors (she went entirely the community college route in lieu of high school). She got into Berkeley – that was her first choice.

Read selected examples of essays that worked, ..

Even though the essay is written by the student and in the student’s voice, these professionals pointed out flaws that needed correction and reinforced the prompt questions.

Gloria Cordes Larson, the president of Bentley University, suggests questions that prospective students might ask to determine if they have found a college that is worth the investment.

TOP Rated College Essay Writing Service - Paper4College

The essay actually does say a lot about him. It shows he is witty, cynical, funny, and creative. It also shows that he is brave, because he is not afraid to break the conventions of a typical college essay. The rest of his application would have said what clubs he was in, his grades, and the rest of the things most people talk about in their essays. I agree that it would likely be obvious if a student were to emulate this style exactly, but claiming the essay “says little about the applicant” is rather naive.

Read College Essays That Worked - SparkNotes

What worked here? I’m told the admissions officers appreciated how the writer conveyed her love of words — and in the process told them much about herself. As a writer, I admired the way she built a sense of mystery at the outset, one that served to draw the reader in.

A bland admission essay can put an overworked college rep to sleep

Other than the most competitive schools is anyone reading the essays?? It seems that a well written essay if accompanied by low standard test scores gets ignored when in fact the essay is a better example of what the student can do. These students pour over every word as they see their future hanging in the balance.Does the admissions committee at University of Maryland actually read the answers to the short answer questions? Do they read the essays?

11 Offbeat College Essay Topics | Mental Floss

Rowling and “Real Freedom?” by David Wallace, and an article titled “The 4-Stage Response to Low Student Achievement” by John Lemuel, all have several aspects of education in common and provide knowledge and inspiration about the real idea and necessity for education.

College Application and Essay Help | SUSAN G. WOLF

I find these examples and the ensuing comments to be an example of just how subjective college admissions officers are when making their decisions. Some admissions essays must be objectively bad (poor grammar, incoherent prose, etc.) and I imagine that some must be objectively good, however, it seems to me that the great bulk lie in the middle. In that middle ground then isn’t the merit of one’s essay inextricably tied to the taste’s of the admissions officers reviewing that essay? Would a brilliant essay by Hunter S. Thompson be tossed out because the reader hated drug use and non-conformity? Would an essay by Tom Wolfe be rejected because the reader hated exclamations? Oh my! Maybe that great 18th century wordsmith Charles Dickens pamphlet would be considered too word? Or Hemingway’s to sparse?

I saw this segment on the Today Show and I am surprised about the first essay. I understand the concept of Glee being a new show and seeming juvenile, but it isn’t. I find the show rather creative for taking older songs, modernizing them, and reintroducing them to a new generation of people. Not to mention it adds new life to a song already loved by the older generation who watch the show as well. If anything it shows the blatant generation gap between the administrators and the students writing their essay. John Lennon was a great artist but it doesn’t mean I’m obligated to be a fan, nor is this student. People should respect the difference of opinion. This student was honest enough to say he/she didn’t like the song and why when performed by John Lennon, but found beauty in the song he/she previously dismissed when performed by a group of deaf children. I think that shows a strong sense of self in the student which was, unfortunately, overlooked.

I find Hermann Hesseâs book, Narcissus and Goldmund, intellectually exciting. After reading the book last year, I remember putting it down and sighing contentedly. I had, after a sleepless night, finally finished. What I reveled in was not the fact that I could sleep, but that I had come away with an inexplicable something. It was not an understanding which could be pinpointed and explained. Rather, it was a sense I felt in the depths of my soul. And yet, what delighted me more was that I knew that I had only begun to understand the book; that there remained countless messages which I could only sense but not grasp. Here, finally, I had a book which could be re-read. And every time I finished, I would come away with a new understanding of something I could not put into words.

Yet, I cannot resign myself to merely studying my own culture and language. I want to be able to apply my knowledge as well. To me, pursuing a career in business is a very pragmatic solution to my future welfare. My father is a businessman in Taiwan and I have had numerous opportunities to watch him work. Through him, I have discovered my own interests in the business field. I find the way business operates in the East to be very exciting. At the same time, my father has soothed my sense of morality by showing me that it is possible to be an honest businessman in Asia.

College Essays That Stand Out From the Crowd

And while it was a great essay at the time and the writer definitely has a sense of humor, we strongly discourage students from writing essays in this style. For one, every single admissions officer — from the ones who are first out of college to the veterans of the departments — will know from where you’re taking inspiration. Also, this essay is kind of mocking the entire college admissions process. The writer is essentially saying that he has done all of these amazing things in life and he hasn’t even yet gone to college. Sure, it’s written tongue and cheek but, at the end of the day, the essay says little about the actual applicant. Because, presumably, little or none of it is true. That’s the whole point.

Funny college essays – International Leadership …

This is a funny read, very clever and just entertaining! If you asked a college coach or anyone else if you should submit this essay, they would say no!!! Maybe he had an equally amazing gpa and perfect sat scores etc….and he had room to take a risk!